Over 65,000 leprosy cases recorded in India in 2020-21: Report
Maharashtra state TB and Leprosy officer Dr R S Adkekar said that under the National Leprosy Elimination Programme, they have identified 355 blocks in 35 districts of Maharashtra of which 203 are high-endemic ones.
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(File Photo)January 30, which is also known as Marty’s Day on the occasion of the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, is also observed as anti-leprosy day. India accounts for over half of the world’s new leprosy patients, according to WHO.
Leprosy, caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, primarily affects the peripheral nervous system causing skin lesions, numbness, and other deformities. As per the latest data from National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), a total of 65,147 new leprosy cases were detected during the year 2020-21 in India. During the same period, Maharashtra recorded more than 12,000 cases.
“Don’t forget leprosy” was a campaign that was launched in August last year by Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for leprosy elimination. The campaign was aimed at keeping leprosy in focus amid the Covid-19 pandemic and to ensure that the needs of those affected by the disease are not neglected.
According to Dr Vivek V Pai, director of Bombay Leprosy Project, approximately one lakh cases were reported till 2019. However, there has been a massive drop in detection due to the ongoing pandemic. At present, over 8,000 cases were reported in the state in 2021. This drop in numbers could be attributed to a decrease in detection and surveillance owing to Covid-19.
In Maharashtra, pockets in Nagpur Circle (Nagpur, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Gondia), Mumbai Circle (Thane, Palghar, Raigad) and Marathwada region have the highest numbers. These districts are still endemic for leprosy and do have high domination of tribal people who need better healthcare access than other socio-economic groups, Dr Pai said.
Maharashtra state TB and Leprosy officer Dr R S Adkekar said that under the National Leprosy Elimination Programme, they have identified 355 blocks in 35 districts of Maharashtra of which 203 are high-endemic ones. “We are enhancing our leprosy detection measures. Five rounds of meetings have been held at the block level,” he added
Dr Joydeepa Darlong, the head of knowledge management at The Leprosy Mission Trust, said India’s elimination strategy is to achieve WHO’s goal of ‘Zero Leprosy by 2030’. However, the longterm objective of NLEP is to eliminate leprosy which essentially means reducing the prevalence rate by less than one per 10,000 people at the sub-national level, he added.
In addition to increasing screening drives, the aim is to improve active case detection, regular surveillance, and give timely multi-drug treatment to all patients. According to the experts, it is important to understand that if leprosy is detected in a timely manner, most of the cases can be cured by 6-12 months.
According to NLEP’s 2020-2021 report, 94.75% of patients in India were cured.
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